johnfn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Paraphrase]

== This is an official NGUAC Review ==

Oh cool, an actual legitimate chiptune track. Those drums even sound authentic, like maybe they came out of famitracker or something? I dunno, but I can dig the authenticity. Unfortunately, what I don't dig so much is the mix of the track - it's far too sparse. It needs some elements to pad it out, like maybe chords played by saw waves or something.

I also think that this song is way too repetitive - you pretty much have one idea and repeat it over and over again through the entire track. Additional sections with different ideas and chord progressions could really help this track stay interesting over its runtime.

Mini-scores (not used to calculate final score in any way - just so you know what needs improvement):

Arrangement: 1/4
Composition: 2/4
Sound Design: 3/4
Production: 3/4

Overall: 5.8

JigglypuffClient responds:

I know that this isn't very good. Not nearly as nice as my first submitted score. I will continue trying though. Someday I'll have it down.

[[FGS] Battlegrounds]

== This is an official NGUAC Review ==

Huh, a rock and dubstep hybrid track. I have to admit, that's something I haven't heard before. It seems to be a mostly successful experiment - nothing is horribly wrong with the track, and it's mostly enjoyable to listen to. The dubstep and rock combination in the 'drops' is pretty fun to listen to, and the overall 'battleground' theme, which seems to have lead to grim and dark music, seems pretty effective.

However, the main problem with this piece is that nothing really stood out to me, either. There's really no melodies or chord progressions that really gripped me. I found myself wishing that the compositional aspects of this song were stronger.

All in all, it's not a bad piece, just one that deserves a bit more work!

Mini-scores (not used to calculate final score in any way - just so you know what needs improvement):

Arrangement: 3+/4
Composition: 2/4
Sound Design: 3/4
Production: 3/4

Overall: 7.2

[G4CE'sz - Haze]

== This is an official NGUAC Review ==

Now THIS... THIS is a hard to score track. Like, okay lets just put it out there, the mix is so so bad, I don't know what happened there but it's just not good. It's almost as if half of it got low passed or something, like everything is SO quiet and then there are a few drums that are SO loud??? And also the melodies are totally random.

But I have to say that your chord progressions are almost all really really intriguing and tasty and THAT is the saving grace for this song that prevented it from getting a really low score. I dunno exactly what you did to them but they speak exactly to my deranged sensibilities that love super weird funk chords, so great job there. I seriously can't give this song too low of a score because some of the chord progressions are like the best I've heard in the compo.

Mini-scores (not used to calculate final score in any way - just so you know what needs improvement):

Arrangement: 2/4
Composition: ?????????????????????
Sound Design: 2/4
Production: 1/4

Overall: 7.0

KayJay-Artique responds:

Thank you for the review, I totally get what you mean by the bad mixing so there's a thing I shall concentrate on in the future but I'm glad to hear that I have my know-how around chords and chord progressions so thank you as well for that.
I look forward to next years NGUAC Contest and the creations from the current contest.

[Chill 2]

== This is an official NGUAC Review ==

So I wasn't totally sold on the sound design at first, but eventually I kinda slotted it into the 'vintage' section of my mind and it actually works well with the what sounds to me like slight detuning and stuff. And I have to say, this chord progression is actually very cool. Again, I wasn't totally sure if it would work at first, but the repetition really made it work well. It makes great use of a few out-of-scale chords and a well chosen III, and I also really appreciate that it's not just 1 bar to one chord, it has a neat rhythm to it. Very cool. The melody is pretty simple and not great or anything, but it gets the job done.

If I were to complain about this song, I'd say that the mix is definitely flooded at points - there are simply too many instruments all in the same place. That and the drums should be louder.

Still though, this is some cool stuff.

Mini-scores (not used to calculate final score in any way - just so you know what needs improvement):

Arrangement: 3/4
Composition: 3+/4
Sound Design: 3/4
Production: 2/4

Overall: 8.1

Electronox responds:

Thanks for the review! I know I didn't make the cut for the next round, but I am still glad I got 8.1/10! Could you explain to me what you mean by Production? Is that like mastering? Thanks again!

[This Phoenix Will Rise]

== This is an official NGUAC Review ==

Gotta commend you on the really beautiful and atmospheric intro. I feel like I could sit there forever.

I'm not totally sold on the crazy melodies you have going, though; they are okay, but they don't really pull me in or anything, and while they do a good job following the contour of the chords (always a plus) they do feel a bit random.

At first I felt the drop was underwhelming, but eventually I realized that it's mostly underwhelming due to the lack of super loud drums that would really drive the energy in that section. The drop idea is actually pretty fun aside from those issues. =)

Fun stuff - could use some work, but not so bad as is!

Mini-scores (not used to calculate final score in any way - just so you know what needs improvement):

Arrangement: 3/4
Composition: 2+/4
Sound Design: 3/4
Production: 3/4

Overall: 7.6

DJ-DG responds:

Thank you! Yes, even I am a fan of my intro (too much credit)? At this time I had some severe writer's block and so no good melodies really struck... couldn't really spend much time on this so I put something together (was busy). Thank you for appreciating the idea of my drop... wanted to keep it minimalistic.
Anyways, enough justifying myself... thanks for all the feedback, can tell the melodies are the main issue here. Hope the drums are audible here, not like in Luminous!

-DJ-DG

[The Alignment]

== This is an official NGUAC Review ==

Right off the bat, I have to praise you for putting the work into the arrangement. This song has many many different parts - it moves through all sorts of moods and energy levels rarely if ever sounds dull. The song has lots of tricks up its sleeve, and yet it always sounds like a coherent whole rather than multiple sections glued together. Nice work there.

However, there are a few things about this track that need additional work. The mix is a definite pain point, with a number of instruments and channels sticking out, especially during climaxes. (3:13 is a big offender, with crazy dry percussion far too loud over everything else. To be honest, a drum solo section would be great, but right now it just sounds far too dry! Reverb and compression is good.). Also, there's a melodic whistley thing around 1:15 that's so quiet I almost missed it entirely. Furthermore, your composition could use more work as well - while it's not bad, it never really catches or surprises me either.

Mini-scores (not used to calculate final score in any way - just so you know what needs improvement):

Arrangement: 4/4
Composition: 2+/4
Sound Design: 2/4
Production: 2/4

Overall: 7.4

ColinMuir responds:

Thank you, that really helps. I found it difficult to mix during the week with everything going on, so i'll have to work on that. I loved arranging everything and all the instruments. Probably so much that i passed some parts i could have made better in the composition. Right before i submitted it i still felt something missing but couldn't find it, this helped me analyse it better.

Thanks again johnfn :)

- Colin

[Moving Slowly]

== This is an official NGUAC Review ==

This is a cool start to a song. I definitely like the core melodic motif and the associated chord progression. However I have to admit that it's certainly far too repetitive as it stands right now - the song really only has two sections, as you mentioned. Furthermore, the mixing really needs some love, as all the elements need to have their volumes adjusted (the piano is way too loud, the crash is too dry, and in general the climax mix simply has too many instruments in it. Try using fewer that pull their weight more!

All in all, a cool start to a song. Try varying it up and going a little more minimalistic next time! =)

Mini-scores (not used to calculate final score in any way - just so you know what needs improvement):

Arrangement: 2/4
Composition: 2/4
Sound Design: 1+/4
Production: 1/4

Overall: 5.3

BlujayTunes responds:

I definitely agree with the things you pointed out! I will improve. See you next year!

[Abendland - Reflections]

== This is an official NGUAC Review ==

This is a really nice cinematic piece! I have to commend you on your sound palette in particular. Basically every instrument in this entire song is chosen excellently, from the subtle piano tone, to the higher violins to the deeper cellos(?). The addition of the eastern twangy instrument (what is it?) at points is a unique and nice decision as well!

This song would be spectacular as menu ambiance for a game, or maybe a very sombre part of a movie. However, I have to admit that, all things considered, as a standalone piece entered to a contest, I find it a little... lacking? Like, there's no melodies to follow, no different sections, nothing to really draw me back to the piece (except the mood I suppose!). If I were to give you suggestions for future pieces, I'd say to take a little more risk? You obviously have the pieces in play - I'd love to hear you try your hand at writing some melodies or more up-front progressions or something!

Mini-scores (not used to calculate final score in any way - just so you know what needs improvement):

Arrangement: 2+/4
Composition: 3/4
Sound Design: 4/4
Production: 3+/4

Overall: 7.7